INEC Dismisses ADC’s Allegations Of Irregularities In Osun Voters’ Data
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed insinuations that the 393,269, pre-registered voters it recorded for Osun State in the first week of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise is statistically impossible.
The Commission described the concerns as unfounded and based on a lack of historical understanding of past voter registration trends.
INEC rejected claims by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), questioning the authenticity of online voter pre-registration data, particularly the high number recorded in Osun State.
In a statement issued Thursday night by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the commission described the concerns as unfounded and based on a lack of historical understanding of past voter registration trends.
“The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission has been drawn to a press statement attributed to the spokesperson of a young political party on the data published by the Commission on the online pre-registration of voters.
“In particular, the statement claimed that the number of pre-registrants in Osun State defies “historical patterns and demographic realities.’ Nothing can be further from the truth,’ the statement read.
According to Oyekanmi, the current figures are consistent with data from INEC’s 2021 online registration exercise. He noted that within the first 24 hours of the portal’s launch on June 28, 2021, over 59,000 accounts were created.
By the second week, Osun had 154,893 pre-registrants. That figure grew to 232,880 by the third week and 402,619 by the eleventh week. As of April 18, 2022, Osun led all states with 708,782 completed pre-registrations.
“With regard to Osun State, the pattern is similar to what occurred in June 2021 when the Commission launched the online pre-registration for the first time. Within the first 24 hours of launching the portal on 28th June 2021, 59,331 accounts were created.
“By the second week, on 12th July 2021, a total of 456,909 accounts were active. Interestingly, Osun state led with 154,893 pre-registrations at the time. In the third week, 752,011 persons had pre-registered, and Osun State was at the front with 232,880.
“By the eighth week, on 23rd August 2021, 2,215,832 persons had pre-registered with Osun State still leading with 365,412. In the 11th week of the exercise on 13th September 2021, 2,953,094 individuals had pre-registered, with Osun State still in the lead with 402,619. By 18th April 2022, a total of 8,271,647 Nigerians had pre-registered, and Osun was ahead of all states with 708,782 registrations.
“If the party were proactive enough, a simple search of past records already in the public domain would have revealed these facts. The Commission was upfront during the last CVR exercise by releasing the data on a weekly basis until it was concluded in 2022. Besides, all persons who pre-registered online were required to physically visit a designated centre to complete their registration process, during which their biometrics were captured,” Oyekanmi explained.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
